January 3, 2016

Island of Hawaii

Many years ago, when I was still a college student, I hitchhicked around the island of Hawaii, the biggest island among the Hawaiian Islands. I slept on the beach most nights, but one time I was in the mountain, in the middle of barren lava field. The sun was setting and the air becoming chilly to cold, and there was no sign of human habitation. I ended up sleeping in a small lava pit, which was warm with the earth heat, and I was able to sleep through the night.

As I was web-searching the island, I happened to find a small hotel called Manago Hotel. It looks old, retaining the feel of wooden buildings I used to see so many in my college days. It has a restaurant and frequented by the tourist as well as the locals. Further web-searching revealed that the nearby town called Kaelakekau is the birth place of Ellison Onizuka, an Japanese-American astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle desaster in 1986.

These search results inspired something in me. I might come up with another story.

my profile

A haiga (haiku+artwork) artist. A priest of Tenrikyo.
The advisor of World Haiku Association, and the judge of WHA Haiga Contest (http://www.worldhaiku.net/).
Living in Tenri, Japan, near a city called Nara. My full name is Kuniharu Shimizu: seehaikuhere(at)gmail(dot)com